The present invention relates, in general, to lathe devices and more particularly relates to attachments for positioning work by soft jaws that attach to each of the jaws of the lathe chuck. The lathe chuck jaws are restricted to prevent movement of the assembly. Soft jaws are refabricated of readily machinable materials and are used in industry for machining operations where concentricity and runout tolerance is critical for a part being machined. Soft jaws are usually machined to mate with various types of chucks normally used in a lathe assembly. The soft jaws are fitted on the chucks of a device such as a lathe or grinder and formed in place by machining to the desired gripping diameter for the part that is to be machined. Once machined with the gripping surfaces properly formed, the soft chuck jaws fit the particular lathe chuck for which they have been designed and then the concentricity of the part to be machined is ensured.
In connection with the manufacture of soft jaws the principal cost arises from the various configurations which may be from time to time utilized for locating the work piece in the jaws.
Various prior art procedures have been divised to shorten setup time and accurately position the work piece. In one arrangement alignment is achieved by individually adjusting each lathe soft jaw radially back and forth until the work piece is positioned positively in the intended location. Such a procedure is time consuming and expensive and results of course in lost production time.
Various prior art arrangements have been developed to address the problems associated with the manufacture and use of soft jaws and include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,131; 4,696,482; 4,556,228; and 4,277,073 in addition, various manufactures produce devices of various configurations directed to a similar purposes and include Huron Machine Products Inc., as well as Accu-ring Jaw Systems Inc., of Ambler, PA.
However, no prior art arrangement is known which provides the advantageous of devices within the scope of the present invention is described hereinafter.